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SEO Company | Search Marketing ServicesTue, 12 Dec 2017 20:07:02 +0000en-UShourly1How to Fix the Most Common Technical SEO Issues On WordPresshttps://www.highervisibility.com/blog/how-to-fix-the-most-common-technical-seo-issues-on-wordpress/
https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/how-to-fix-the-most-common-technical-seo-issues-on-wordpress/#respondTue, 12 Dec 2017 18:58:09 +0000https://www.highervisibility.com/?p=10523For the last several years, SEMrush has conducted studies around the most common technical SEO mistakes that appear on websites. This year, SEMrush collected data on 100K websites and 450 million pages to determine the most common mistakes and issues. Knowing that WordPress is the most popular CMS platform on the web, and using the […]]]>

For the last several years, SEMrush has conducted studies around the most common technical SEO mistakes that appear on websites. This year, SEMrush collected data on 100K websites and 450 million pages to determine the most common mistakes and issues.

Knowing that WordPress is the most popular CMS platform on the web, and using the SEMrush study, we wanted to show how you to fix those pesky technical SEO issues on your WordPress sites.

Following the same methodology set out by SEMrush, we have divided the fixes into three big groups:

Crawlability

Technical SEO

On-Page SEO

Crawlability

WWW Domain Configured Incorrectly

What is it?

If you can access your website by going to the WWW version and the non WWW version and both resolve to that address, you have a problem. This is considered a duplicate content concern since essentially there are 2 ways to access the same content.

How to fix it

First determine whether the WWW version or the non WWW is your preferred version. The nice thing about WordPress is that whichever one you enter in the general settings, it will automatically set it up properly assuming you have both version pointed to the same IP address. Meaning if you try to access the website using the other version it should already redirect you to the correct version.

Redirect Chains & Loops

What is it?

A redirect chain happens with there is more than one redirect occurring between the first URL and the final URL. When a URL is redirected it should be done so pointing directly to its final destination. This can be problematic for SEO because of decreased link equity being passed through.

How to fix it

Once you know where your chains are happening, you simply need to update the link to point to the final destination instead of allowing it to flow through multiple redirects.

Broken Internal Links

What is it?

Links pointing to other internal pages of your website. A broken link not only provides a bad user experience, it affects how Google assesses your sites quality. The more broken links you have, can cause Google to have a reduced crawl rate, and not effectively distribute link equity.

How to fix it

Although there are a couple ways this can be done, for simplicity I recommend using the Broken Link Checker plugin. Upon activating the plugin, you will need to visit the Settings >>Link Checker page. The plugin will automatically start scanning the website for any broken links. Obviously the larger the site the long it will take to finish the scan. Once completed, you should see a link displaying the number of broken links found. Here is a screenshot:

By clicking on the link shown above, you will be taken to a results page of the individual links:

The great thing about this plugin is that you can update the URL right from this view by either changing the URL or unlinking it altogether.

**Note: This is a very resource heavy plugin so it is recommended to deactivate the plugin after use and just reactivate every month or 2 to ensure your website is in good standing.

Missing XML Sitemap

What is it?

A file that lists all of the important pages of your website. It acts as a roadmap for Google. The purpose is that even though your website’s internal linking architecture might not be perfect, the XML sitemap tells Google what all of your URL’s are so they can appropriately crawl and index them.

How to fix it

You want a dynamic xml sitemap so that every time a new page is created on your website the URL gets automatically added to the file. There are many plugins you can use to create an XML sitemap in WordPress but my favorite is to use the Yoast SEO plugin.

Once you activate the plugin, you simply click on XML Sitemaps in the plugin menu:

Once clicked, you can enable or disable XML sitemaps. Once you click the button to enable, the plugin automatically generates the file for you.

Once you have completed this, you simply take the url of the file and submit that to your Google Search Console account.

Missing Robots.TXT

What is it?

The robots.txt file is essentially a set of instructions for the web robots. In this file you can determine which pages or areas of the website you do or don’t want the robots to crawl and access.

How to fix it

Using the multi-dimensional Yoast SEO plugin as mentioned earlier, you can edit the robots.txt file. Make sure you have the advanced features enabled, and when so, click on Tools in the Menu:

Your next step will be to click on File editor. From there you will be able to make changes to your robots.txt file. If you don’t already have one, you can create simply click the button to create and save:

Non SEO-Friendly URL Structure

What is it?

When checking the SEO friendliness of your URL structure you are essentially looking for a clear, easy to read setup. The shorter the better. If possible, you want to try to avoid dynamic URLs or URLs with long strings of numbers in them.

How to fix it

Luckily WordPress makes this easy. If you click on Settings>Permalinks, you are taken to a page that looks like this:

The ideal setup in most cases would be to use a custom structure and append the following in the text box: /%postname%/

The above will solve any issues with non-friendly URLs. For URLs that are flagged as being too long, simply go to the page/post, and edit the permalink underneath the Title as shown:

*Note: Any time you change a URL, you should redirect that URL.

On-Page Optimization

Duplicate Content & Thin Content

What is it?

Duplicate content occurs when substantial blocks of the same copy is being used on more than 1 page throughout the website. This is frowned upon because it degrades the value of your page because there is nothing of unique substance for Google to reward your page. Ideally every page of your website will have unique copy.

Thin Content occurs when you have a page with very little to no copy. This too is not ideal because there is nothing of unique substance for Google to reward that page either.

How to fix it

You can simply fix both by ensuring there is enough copy on the page to accurately represent the theme of that page and that the copy on each page is completely unique.

Duplicate & Missing Meta Descriptions

What is it?

Every page on your website should have a meta description and they should all be unique. The purpose of the meta description is to briefly describe what the contents of this page is about.

How to fix it

Using the Yoast plugin, when editing, toward the bottom of each page/post there will be an area that will look like the below. You simply enter the meta description in the box.

Missing, Duplicate, & Too Long Title Tags

What is it?

Every page on your website should also have a Title Tag and they should all be unique. The purpose of the Title Tag is to Title what the contents of this page is about. The Title tag being properly optimized with keywords is an important facet of SEO.

How to fix it

In the same image shown above with the Meta description, you will see the SEO title. Filling the information in this box will automatically create your Title Tag. Just go through all the pages that have duplication and update them to be different.

Title tags have character limits before Google starts truncating them (typically 60 characters and above). In the case where the Title Tag is too long, you will simply need to edit the Title to be under the 60 character limit.

Missing & Multiple H1 Tags

What is it?

H1 tags are essentially a type of HTML heading. It is widely believed that H1 tags carry more weight than other headings on a page. Following best practices, each page should have an H1 tag but only 1.

How to fix it

To add an H1 tag to a page, simply go to the page editor in WordPress and highlight the copy that you want to be in an H1. Once highlighted, select the H1 heading from the dropdown menu in the WYSIWYG editor as shown:

If you have more than 1 H1 tag on a page, you will need to find where they are marked up, and follow the same instructions as above except select a different heading type. You can have as many H2’s, H3’s, etc as you would like.

Broken Images & Missing Alt Attributes

What is it?

A broken image is exactly what it sounds like. An image that isn’t rendering on the website.

An alt attribute is a tag applied to images that provide a text alternative to the image. An alt tag should describe what the picture is. It’s purpose is for screen readers for those that are visually impaired. Every image should have one.

How to fix it

You can fix broken images by simply updating the image on a post/page, or by removing it altogether.

To add alt text to an image, simply select it in the Media Library of WordPress and you should see a box with Image Details appear as shown below where you can enter in your alt text.

Technical SEO

Slow Page Speeds

What is it?

Page speed is an extremely important facet to SEO and user experience. The slower a page loads, the less likely someone will want to stick around for it.

How to fix it

There are many plugin options that help improve Page Speed for a website. There are 3 core ones that we typically like to use that should have a big impact on improving your page speed.

W3 Total Cache: This will help solve any browser caching issues that show up in Google Pagespeed Insights and assist with page compression.

Autoptimize: This will handle the minification of CSS, HTML & JavaScript files and improve the render-blocking scripts

EWWW Image Optimization: This is our preferred method of optimizing images. Although I will admit, the paid version produces better results.

*Note: One of the most common issues that occurs is the reduction in server response time. Unfortunately there is no plugin to fix this. Usually you would need to upgrade your hosting plan to accommodate for newer software & higher resources.

Non Mobile Friendly

What is it?

By now most should have a mobile website, yet we still see some that don’t everyday. Google has already started launching their mobile first index which means if you don’t have a mobile website than you will soon be left behind.

How to fix it

The recommended way to solve this would be to make your website responsive. If it is not already, then you will need to hire a developer. The reason we recommend responsive is that you only have 1 website to maintain and it automatically conforms to the size of the screen a visitor is using.

The second option is to have a separate mobile website. Although not my favorite option it is better than not having a mobile website. In this case, I would recommend using WPtouch as a short term solution until you invest in going responsive. Once activated, you can setup your mobile website in a matter of minutes.

]]>https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/how-to-fix-the-most-common-technical-seo-issues-on-wordpress/feed/0Does your website exude E-A-T?https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/does-your-website-exude-e-a-t/
https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/does-your-website-exude-e-a-t/#commentsMon, 27 Nov 2017 13:30:21 +0000https://www.highervisibility.com/?p=10513When it comes to SEO, there are no secret magic tricks. Contrary to what many want you to believe. In fact, over the last several years, Google themselves has proactively provided more and more details on what it takes to perform well online. One of those ways is through their Search Quality Rater Guidelines. These […]]]>

When it comes to SEO, there are no secret magic tricks. Contrary to what many want you to believe. In fact, over the last several years, Google themselves has proactively provided more and more details on what it takes to perform well online. One of those ways is through their Search Quality Rater Guidelines.

One of the more important takeaways from the 160 page document is the acronym E-A-T. That is the question today, Does your website exude E-A-T? If not, it’s time to rethink your website altogether and make improvements if you want to see success in SEO.

What is E-A-T?

The acronym stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. In short, websites that exude more EAT are considered to be of higher quality than those that don’t.

In fact, the guidelines themselves state that EAT is one of the most important factors when determining an overall Page Quality rating.

How is E-A-T determined?

When trying to determine whether your website exudes EAT, look at the following characteristics and be honest with yourself:

1. Does your website/page have high quality main content?

This doesn’t mean that the pages that have more content on them are better it simply means that the pages that do the best job at answering the user’s query in the most complete manner is likely to see higher quality ratings than not.

You should be an expert in your field. Provide the credentials to show that off and make sure your content speaks to your expertise. If you’re website is medical, financial, or legal in nature this is even more important vs that of a humor website.

When the raters evaluate the quality of the main content they spend time examining it before determining a conclusion. Is the content is factually accurate? If your page features calculators, videos, or pictures, do they all work and show? If your page is a shopping page, does it have products and if you add to the shopping cart, does it work?

All of these little things are taken into consideration when determining the quality. A great way to see if your website’s main content meets the user’s needs is to look at the websites that are ranking well and see what they are doing that you aren’t. Also, look at the People also ask section for a SERP and see if your content includes answers to those common questions.

2. Does your website make it clearly known who is responsible for the website and how to contact you?

Yes, it is important for users that visit a webpage to clearly see information about who you are & how to get in contact with you. Do you show your address? Phone number? Email addresses? Explanations about your business or website? Having this information helps build user trust which is part of the examination when a human rater determines quality.

3. Does your website have a positive reputation?

When you Google your business or website name and look at the results in the SERPS, do you have articles talking bad about you? Are your reviews mostly negative in nature? If so, those will likely affect the rating you receive. While have a negative review is common in nature, it’s more about the quantity and if the majority of the coverage about your brand is negative. If you have 10 reviews and 2 are negative then it’s likely not going to have any impact.

E-A-T Good Feel Good

Your website will only be as good as what you put into it. If the time, effort, expertise, and talent/skill that has gone into your pages is lacking, then it’s time to update and improve. It’s not me that is saying this, it’s Google so take it to heart and make the necessary changes so you can start seeing success in SEO.

]]>https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/does-your-website-exude-e-a-t/feed/1Gen X, Gen Y Targeting: How to Target Different Generations on Social Mediahttps://www.highervisibility.com/blog/gen-x-gen-y-targeting-how-to-target-different-generations-on-social-media/
https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/gen-x-gen-y-targeting-how-to-target-different-generations-on-social-media/#commentsThu, 12 Oct 2017 12:34:24 +0000https://www.highervisibility.com/?p=10489Highly compelling copy—the kind that rattles the questions of your audience, and shockingly, (and instantly) gives them the answer—isn’t easy to do. It’s an even greater challenge when you’re targeting multiple generations at once. In this article, you’ll learn the three components of turning ‘good’ copy into ‘I gotta buy this’ branding, no matter how […]]]>

Highly compelling copy—the kind that rattles the questions of your audience, and shockingly, (and instantly) gives them the answer—isn’t easy to do. It’s an even greater challenge when you’re targeting multiple generations at once. In this article, you’ll learn the three components of turning ‘good’ copy into ‘I gotta buy this’ branding, no matter how old or young your viewers may be.

First Up: Know the Difference Between X and Y (Even Z!)

While you may know a millennial when you see one, do you know how to reach them in a sentence or two? Do you know how to turn a Generation X viewer (otherwise known as a ‘latchkey kid’) into a devoted consumer? Don’t sweat it out. Instead, learn the key psychological components of what makes them ‘click and buy’ – and then sit back, ride the waves of high sales and repeat:

Generation X. Generation X are those who were born between 1966-1976. From no technology to highly sophisticated technology, they’ve come a long way. However, they also tend to get overwhelmed by too much digital ‘noise.’ Consider Generation X your highest educated generation (26% have a bachelor’s degree, or higher). Lead them into full-fledged online engagement by education based products, facts or interview-type posts.

Generation Y. Generation Y, otherwise known as the Millennials, dominate on social media. Born between 1977-1994 they are career professionals, many of whom learned in the early 2000’s how to create a website, sell a product and market it to the masses.

Now in their 30’s and 40’s, they are prone to ignoring the typical marketing pitch, and look for compelling content, fine-tuned sales funnels and impeccable images to stay engaged. They’ve been in the presence of technology since childhood, and crave a variety of digital content, such as ezines, podcasts, and blog posts. Blast them with a variety of marketing content and you’ll keep them engaged and excited for what’s next.

Want to grab hundreds (or thousands) of leads within days and watch your business skyrocket? Give them a free gift (like an ebook or meditation track) in exchange for their email. They want instant gratification now, and they’ll become a loyal customer if you can offer something of high value.

Generation Z. There isn’t as much market research for Generation Z, because they’re the ‘babies’ of all generations. Born between 1995-2012, they may grow up to be the most technologically savvy of any generation. Chances are, they will be raised to expect diversity in their classroom (and online learning, such as social media), through interactive learning platforms (live streaming, anyone?). One of the greatest marketing tactics you can use to reach them as they grow up? Interactive webinars, and eCourse platforms.

Three Techniques to Reach Each Generation on Social Media Instantly

Now that you know what each generation is about, it’s time to dive head first into targeting each generation on social media—and meet them where they already are. Here they are: three generations, and three strategies that payoff:

Generation X. The baby boomer generation is most responsive to emails, so use it to your advantage! Create an email marketing campaign (do this easily by using a service like Aweber or MailChimp) and grab their attention with three inspiring or informative blog posts a week—sent right to their inbox.

Being the most financial responsible of all generations, hook their loyalty with online deals, home ownership tips, or ‘freebies’ (for example: offer free customization on a product you sell).

Generation Y. Ah, the millennials. The generation that makes up for over 70 million, and the potential to become your target audience, alone. Sharp, smart and innovative, they are thirsty for more knowledge constantly.

According to The New York Times, over 64% of millennials would rather make less than $45,000 a year doing what they love than make more money, doing something they aren’t inspired by.

Create content that inspires them. Promote a product that will trigger fearlessness in them to do what they love, increase their productivity, or allow them to instantly achieve greater work/life balance. Just make sure it’s 100% ‘you’. Don’t fake your way to building a brand. Speak, write about, or post videos that are in alignment with your vision, and that you’re passionate about. When you’re ‘you’ and your brand is authentic, they’ll beg for more.

Generation Z. According to a study done by Forbes.com, Generation Z spends 74% of their time on social media While they might not be as technologically experienced as Generation Y, they’re on social media constantly—and expect instant contact. Cater to your generation Z audience by developing (and maintaining) a strong presence on Snapchat, or with Instagram Stories (they respond well to stunning visuals and fun filters!) Kill two birds with one stone by live streaming videos on Facebook, and/or weekly YouTube videos.

Do you know what generation your audience is composed of? Or, is it a combination X, Y and Z? To know your audience is to compel them to fall in love with your brand. Use the above techniques and see what works best!

]]>https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/gen-x-gen-y-targeting-how-to-target-different-generations-on-social-media/feed/2Black Friday SEO Advice to Get More Sales in 2017https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/black-friday-seo-advice-to-get-more-sales-in-2017/
https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/black-friday-seo-advice-to-get-more-sales-in-2017/#respondTue, 10 Oct 2017 12:15:49 +0000https://www.highervisibility.com/?p=10487Black Friday is just around the corner, and for many business owners (small and large) it’s the most profitable time of year. According to Techradar, a whopping $3.34 billion was spend last Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Ready to get your piece of the pie this November? It starts, and ends with optimizing your website. […]]]>

Black Friday is just around the corner, and for many business owners (small and large) it’s the most profitable time of year. According to Techradar, a whopping $3.34 billion was spend last Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Ready to get your piece of the pie this November? It starts, and ends with optimizing your website. Learn the most effective SEO tips to strengthen your brand, achieve higher sales and surpass your ecommerce dreams!

First Things First: Cheat Your Way to Sales Success (With a Checklist)

It’s not really cheating—in fact, it’s a strategy to blow your competition out of the water so that you reach the true ecommerce sales potential that you deserve. While Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year, it can also be the most stressful day of the year as well. How do you guarantee your website won’t crash with high volume traffic? How do you best increase the amount of spending per customer? With this handy checklist, of course! Cross off each task one by one, and you’ll skyrocket your sales just in time for Black Friday:

Set up an autoresponder series for abandoned cart visitors. If you already use an automated email marketing series to keep your customer engaged, make sure to add a ‘Black Friday’ campaign. All you have to do is capture those viewers who added your product to their cart (but then left your site). Send a reminder email to them with a special, additional 10% off coupon – if they come back by midnight to complete their checkout.

Create a pop-up landing page with a discount code. The average viewer only takes three seconds to view your site. Instantly grab their attention with a compelling pop-up landing page, placed front and center on your homepage. Do you want to create a greater sense of urgency? Design a landing page that includes a timer, counting down the hours, minutes and seconds before your deal expires.

Create a banner to display your too-good-to-pass-up Black Friday deal. Banners are easy to create (just head over to canva.com to create a free one). Create a bold heading and font that specifies what your deal is. The more instantly visible your Black Friday deals are, the more viewers are likely to buy.

Be absolutely sure your store can deal with the demand. Don’t underestimate the power of your product. When Black Friday comes, consumers (old and new) will want to take advantage of your deals. Check ahead of time with your suppliers, making sure they can handle your surplus of orders.

Now that you have a website equipped for high sales and a low drop-off rate, it’s time to optimize your online business to reach the masses in record time. Apply these five tips to your site ASAP, and you’ll become the epitome of #salesgoals.

Create SEO-Focused Gift Guides

Forget struggling to optimize your sales. One highly effective shortcut is by suggestive gift guide pop-ups as they go through check-out. According to Google’s trend report from 2016, over 70 percent of online consumers start shopping without having something particular in mind that they want to buy! For example, if you sell women’s clothing, put together a few gift guides that include related interests for women, such as fashion bracelets, necklaces and a subscription to a women’s magazine.

Utilize YouTube

Make a few ‘Black Friday Gift Idea’ videos on YouTube and reach even more potential customers (a whopping 68 percent of consumers turn to YouTube when they don’t know what they want to buy!) Just make sure you follow YouTube’s SEO rules by including no more than 2% density keywords and 700 words—max—in your video description (or your video won’t get uploaded).

Add Popular Keywords for Holiday Gifts in Your Marketing Copy

Black Friday is the perfect time to utilize SEO keywords in all platforms of your marketing copy, including: emails, landing pages, PPC ads, blog posts and product descriptions. Start off your search with ‘Black Friday’, and make sure to also utilize ‘related searches’ for more keyword ideas.

Know Your Buzz Words

Once you have your list of Black Friday keywords, make sure that you add holiday specific buzz words to your marketing copy. For example, it’s not enough to simply describe what your product is with ‘Black Friday’ keywords. You have to hook your audience with additional words like ‘Best,’ ‘Incredible,’ ‘Rare,’ or ‘One of a Kind.’

Peak their curiosity with buzz words, so that whether you’re selling champagne filled chocolates or cashmere sweaters, you’ve hooked them and compelled them to click, buy—and become a customer for years to come.

Force the Masses to Discover Your Sale

While content has been and always will be king, never underestimate the power of a really good image. Many businesses use images in their blog posts or web content, but fail to maximize their exposure by forgetting about the alt tags. This holiday season (as well as any other day of the year) remember that your audience is visually inspired. Add stock photos of a picturesque setting, or of a child receiving the perfect gift on Christmas morning. Find images that evoke Universal desires we all have: a sense of joy, wonder and even magic. Then, take advantage of alt tags so that visitors can find you—and inevitably, the perfect Black Friday deal they just can’t pass up.

]]>https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/black-friday-seo-advice-to-get-more-sales-in-2017/feed/0Bing is Proving the Future of AI is Now for Small Businesseshttps://www.highervisibility.com/blog/bing-is-proving-the-future-of-ai-is-now-for-small-businesses/
https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/bing-is-proving-the-future-of-ai-is-now-for-small-businesses/#respondFri, 01 Sep 2017 12:00:52 +0000https://www.highervisibility.com/?p=10454Small businesses rely on each employee to wear several hats, but being a jack-of-all-trades also takes time away from employees to do their job and do it well. Small business owners need as much help as possible, whether that is freeing up the hostess to get away from the phones and greet customers or focusing […]]]>

Small businesses rely on each employee to wear several hats, but being a jack-of-all-trades also takes time away from employees to do their job and do it well. Small business owners need as much help as possible, whether that is freeing up the hostess to get away from the phones and greet customers or focusing your executive administrator on running the front office instead of taking payments.

An employee’s day can easily be derailed by customers calling to ask the same questions over and over again; Are you open today? Where can I pay my bill? How do I find your prices? Where are you located? So, it’s easy to understand the necessity Bing sees in creating chatbots for small businesses. Chatbots save your paid employees time, which saves you money.

How Chatbots Work for Small Businesses

Bing launched Business Bots several months ago and is the first major search engine to do this. Bing Bots are programmed to know the answers to simple questions about a business. The business owner simply supplies answers to frequently asked questions such as hours of operation, location, menu items and more. The chatbots are engineered to understand questions and respond to those questions in natural language. This gets employees off the phone every other minute to say, “yes, we are open.”

Bing’s bots can be used directly on Bing, Skype and even on a business’s website. If someone searches for a restaurant in Bing, the search engine results page (SERP) will bring up the listing with buttons to the website to call or to chat (see screenshot below).

So what if a bot doesn’t know an answer?

The bot has information stored for general questions, but if a customer asks a question it does not know the answer to the bot will provide the person with the business’s phone number. The bot will then reach out to the business owner so the owner can provide the answer to the question, so in the future the bot can be more helpful and again, continue to provide information about the business for its customers. This development may allow bots to continually update data and conduct transactions in the SERP.

The bot will also be available across platforms in the future – you create it once and publish across multiple channels such as Bing, Skype and SMS. Facebook Messenger and Cortana capabilities are coming soon.

The Evolution of the Chatbot

So, what is a chatbot, exactly? It’s a program that maintains a conversation with a user, using natural language. The bot understands the person’s intent and responds with the appropriate information. A mobile messenger is used for the chat, whether it’s SMS, Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp, or website.

The explosion of interest in chat bots can be surmised by a few developments:

Mobile messenger popularity: Mobile messengers have grown in popularity and are the most used apps on mobile devices. According to Chatbots Magazine, WhatsApp has reached over a billion users, Facebook Messenger is at 900 million and WeChat is at 700 million. Messenger apps have surpassed social media apps in global popularity. It’s easy to surmise that today, people prefer talking via typing, and businesses should adapt to make that an easier and more developed option.

App fatigue: If you’re thinking about creating an app for your business, you may want to reconsider. App fatigue is growing. App fatigue refers to consumers who are tired of installing and then constantly updating new apps onto their smartphones. Put simply, users often download apps, use them once or twice and then never use them again. According to the same Chatbots Magazine study, as much as 23 percent of mobile users abandon an app after one use. A typical consumer has about 30 apps on their phone, but uses less than five on a consistent basis. As you can see, often times, the development and launch of an app ends up being a waste of resources.

Support for bots through Facebook, Microsoft and other technology leaders: Bot support has grown within the last year, as both Microsoft and Facebook made announcements in 2016 for development and support of chat bots. This has led to the possibility of creating an approved bot and launching it across platforms, seeing affects all across the globe.

Dramatic reduction in chat bot development costs: Finally, the development cost behind chatbots has dropped dramatically. Recently, major software companies like IBM, Microsoft, Facebook and Google have released free advanced development tools, frameworks and research data that has allowed companies to design chat bots for a relatively low price. This has led to advances such in Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Understanding, Speech Recognition and other advanced technologies.

The Takeaway

In the end, it’s easy to see that the mobile world we live in has become the perfect place for businesses to take advantage of chatbots to garner more interest. Chatbots work well with the generations that have grown up on technology and want the easiest, fastest and simplest way to get information. Of course large corporations see value in these and have the development capabilities, but small businesses should pay attention to this as well. With a small team and everyone stretched to capacity, a chat bot could make a big difference in operations and allow your employees to focus on the jobs that take creativity, personality, and intuition.

]]>https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/bing-is-proving-the-future-of-ai-is-now-for-small-businesses/feed/0How to Stop Those Annoying SEO Robo Sales Callshttps://www.highervisibility.com/blog/how-to-stop-those-annoying-seo-robo-sales-calls/
https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/how-to-stop-those-annoying-seo-robo-sales-calls/#commentsMon, 28 Aug 2017 12:00:14 +0000https://www.highervisibility.com/?p=10442Have you ever answered a phone call from an unknown number, only to hear a pre-recorded message? These “robocalls” are very common, and most of them are scams. In particular, scammers pretending to work with Google often target small business owners. Keep reading to learn how to stop receiving these annoying, predatory, and illegal calls. […]]]>

Have you ever answered a phone call from an unknown number, only to hear a pre-recorded message? These “robocalls” are very common, and most of them are scams. In particular, scammers pretending to work with Google often target small business owners. Keep reading to learn how to stop receiving these annoying, predatory, and illegal calls.

The Real Problem with Robo Sales Calls: They’re Illegal

A robocall is an automated phone call that plays a recorded message. As technology makes it cheaper and easier for scammers to send these calls out en masse, robocalls are becoming increasingly prevalent. An estimated 2.4 billion robocalls are made every month. Almost everyone with a phone gets them sometimes.

Robocalls aren’t just annoying. They’re illegal, unless you’ve signed up to receive them, and they’re often fraudulent. Most of the time, robocalls are sent out by scammers to scare people into handing over money or personal information.

How? One common scenario is that you receive an automated call from someone who claims to work for or be affiliated with Google. Some of these callers might claim they can improve your site’s ranking if you pay a fee or sign up for their service. Others might say your business listing is about to expire, and offer to renew or manage it for you. There are lots of ways these scammers might try to fish for your credit card number or other personal information, and you shouldn’t fall for any of them.

Even though this type of call isn’t legitimate, many people mistakenly think Google is behind them. This has tarnished Google’s name a bit, and Google has taken steps to fight back. In 2015, Google sued Local Lighthouse, a California-based SEO company that had been robocalling people and falsely claiming to be affiliated with Google. Google has also published a page with details on how to tell if a call is a scam, and they’ve set up a form where people can submit details about robocalls they’ve received.

Despite all of this, the practice of robocalling is still alive and well. Many of these scammers live overseas and use technology to spoof U.S.-based caller IDs, making them difficult or impossible to track down. It looks like robocallers are going to be around for a while, so what should you do if you find yourself on the line with one?

Identifying a Scam

First, make sure the call is a scam. This usually isn’t hard to do. If you’re not sure, there are a few red flags you can look for:

It doesn’t cost any money to list your business or manage your listing on Google. Don’t trust anyone who wants to do this for a fee.

Likewise, you can’t pay Google to improve your website’s ranking.

Google will not ask you for personal information like your date of birth or credit card number over the phone. (Nor, for that matter, will any other legitimate company.)

What to Do if a Scammer Calls You

Of course, you should never give out any personal information over the phone. There are also a few other things you should do (or avoid doing) if you get an automated call from someone claiming to be with Google.

Do not say anything. Just hang up. If you say something, you’ll confirm that there’s a real person on your end of the line, and the scammer will probably try calling you again.

Don’t push any buttons. Some robocallers will tell you to press a number to speak to someone or hang up. Don’t do it – this will also confirm that you’re a real person.

Report the call to the FTC. Robocalling is illegal if you haven’t signed up to receive the calls. File a complaint with the FTC here. Note that you can file a complaint for a robocall even if you’re not currently listed on the National Do Not Call Registry (more on this in a minute). Below is an example of the FTC complaint page for robocalls:

Report the call to Google. You can find the form here. The more information you can provide, the better Google will be able to track down the company that called you.

Preventing Robocalls

It’s important to deal with robocalls the right way, but wouldn’t it be great to prevent them from happening in the first place? While you may never be able to get rid of the calls entirely, here are a few things you can do to avoid most of them.

See if you can find your phone number online. You may never find out where the scammers got ahold of your number, but it’s also possible that your number is somewhere on the internet where anyone can see it. Google your number and see what comes up. If your number shows up on social media, a list, or somewhere else easy to find, see if you can get it taken down.

Add your phone number to the National Do Not Call Registry. The National Do Not Call Registry is a list of phone numbers that telemarketers are not allowed to call. Once your number is on that list, it’s illegal for anyone to pester you. Of course, scammers with questionable business practices may not respect the registry, but it’s a good place to start. At the very least, reputable companies won’t call you anymore. Below is an example of the what the webpage looks like, found here.

Block scammers’ phone numbers. Most smartphones have a feature that lets you block certain numbers from calling you. If you’ve been getting persistent robocalls from the same number, this is probably your best option for stopping them. You may also be able to contact your phone company and report scammers that won’t leave you alone. Below is an example from PC Mag:

Use an app or tool to block the calls. If you’re sick of getting flooded with robocalls from different numbers, an app like Nomorobo or TrueCaller might be what you need. These apps can identify callers and filter out robocalls before your phone even rings. But if you ever need to take legitimate automated calls, such as reminders from your doctor’s office, be aware that these apps may filter them out too.

Nomorobo is a popular anti-robocalling app. They claim to be able to tell the difference between legitimate automated calls and scam calls:

Truecaller works as a caller ID while blocking incoming spam calls:

Wrapping Up

Robocalls are annoying, especially if you get a lot of them. You know better than to give away your information, of course, but you’re probably tired of dealing with automated calls when you’re trying to focus on other things. Luckily, while scammers will always be out there, there’s plenty you can do to stop them from bothering you. Put these tips to work for you, and you’ll probably receive a lot fewer robocalls in the future.

]]>https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/how-to-stop-those-annoying-seo-robo-sales-calls/feed/1Conversions Might Take a Hit with Chrome 62https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/conversions-might-take-a-hit-with-chrome-62/
https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/conversions-might-take-a-hit-with-chrome-62/#respondMon, 21 Aug 2017 12:00:44 +0000https://www.highervisibility.com/?p=10436Another Google update is on the horizon. In October, the tech giant will release an update to their Chrome browser, and it could have a big effect on your conversions. When it comes out, the new “Chrome 62” will alert users when they type in any kind of information on a page with a non-secure […]]]>

Another Google update is on the horizon. In October, the tech giant will release an update to their Chrome browser, and it could have a big effect on your conversions. When it comes out, the new “Chrome 62” will alert users when they type in any kind of information on a page with a non-secure HTTP connection. If you haven’t switched to HTTPS yet, this could be worrisome news for your business. Here’s what you need to know:

Google’s Push for More Security

Google has been nudging webmasters towards improving their online security for a while now. Back in 2014, Google made HTTPS a ranking signal, so more secure sites tended to rank higher than sites using HTTP, and in January 2017, Google released Chrome 56, which warns users when they input credit card information or a password on an unsecured HTTP site.

But Google isn’t finished yet. Chrome 62, which is scheduled to come out October 17, is going to ramp up the security warnings even more. After the release, Chrome users will see a “Not secure” warning message whenever they type anything into a form field on an HTTP page. This includes fields like search bars and lead capture forms. Below is an example of the “!” you see to show you that you’re on an unsecure site:

Chrome 62 will warn users that a site isn’t secure when they type information into any form field. Chrome will also start displaying a warning on all HTTP pages in incognito mode. Many people mistakenly believe that incognito mode keeps information safe from hackers, but it doesn’t – it just disables your browser from storing anything in your history or cache.

When Chrome 62 comes out, any non-secure form fields in incognito mode will load with a “Not secure” warning. Eventually, Google plans to include a red triangle with an exclamation mark along with its warning that a page isn’t secure. This change will happen in future releases, not Chrome 62.

These changes are having a major impact on Chrome users’ behavior, as well as websites’ traffic. According to Google, there has already been a 23% reduction in traffic to HTTP pages requesting credit card information or passwords. With the next wave of changes, traffic will probably take an even bigger hit – unless webmasters take action now.

HTTPS: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?

At this point, if you aren’t fluent with technology, you might be wondering what exactly HTTP and HTTPS are. What’s the difference between them, and what’s wrong with HTTP?

HTTPstands for HyperText Transfer Protocol.

In a nutshell, it’s a method for sending information between two devices. For example, when you go to a website, HTTP is the procedure that sends the information from the web server to your browser.

The problem with HTTP is that it’s not very secure. Hackers can intercept and read any data sent through an HTTP connection. Obviously, this is a huge problem if you’re sending sensitive personal information like passwords, credit card numbers, or social security numbers. Enter HTTPS.

The extra S on the end stands for “secure.”

HTTPS encodes all of your data before sending it, so if hackers got their hands on your information, they would just see an unreadable string of gibberish. HTTPS encrypts data with the help of two other protocols – SSL, which stands for Secure Sockets Layer, and TSL, which stands for Transport Security Layer.

You can tell whether a site uses HTTP or HTTPS by looking at the URL bar in your browser. If the site is using HTTPS (and therefore secure), you’ll see a padlock symbol on the left side of the bar.

Chrome’s new security features are making internet users more safety-conscious. In the past, it was easy to just not notice whether a site was secure. Ever since Chrome 56 came out, though, it’s much more obvious when a site might not be safe. That’s driving a lot of people away from sites that haven’t upgraded to HTTPS yet – nobody wants their information to be compromised.

How Can You Avoid Taking a Hit?

If you’re already using a secure page to ask visitors for any sensitive information, such as payment information, you’re OK for now. But in October, you’ll need to make sure your whole site is secure. If you’re still using HTTP when the update happens, any kind of form field – like a search bar or an email opt-in form – will flag your site as not secure. This can do a lot of damage to your credibility, and you’ll probably see a steep drop in your conversions and new leads.

The solution is simple: make sure you’re using HTTPS by the time October rolls around. Using HTTPS is just a good practice anyways. It increases customer trust, and it could give your rankings a boost. And, of course, security is a must if you ask your visitors for personal information.

Should you migrate your site to HTTPS by yourself? That depends. It’s possible to do the job on your own, but if you aren’t familiar with how the process works, you might find yourself feeling lost or overwhelmed – or, worse, unsure of how to fix something you broke. If you’re worried about that happening, it’s best to ask your web developer to help you, or hire someone specifically to migrate your site.

If you’d rather make the switch yourself, here’s an overview of what you’ll need to do:

Obtain a SSL certificate. You can get one for free from Let’s Encrypt.

Set up 301 redirects from old http links to new https links. That way, people who follow old links to your site from around the Internet don’t end up at a broken page.

Update your business’ social media pages, your Google Webmaster Tools account, and any other links around the Internet to reflect your new URL.

After you migrate your site, you might see some fluctuations in your rankings, but those should even out after several weeks. If you can, make the switch to HTTPS at a low-traffic time. That way, Google will be able to index your updated site faster, and your rankings will stabilize sooner.

Google has released a guide on updating your own site to HTTPS. If you’re planning to make the switch by yourself, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the process ahead of time. You can find the guide here.

The Takeaway

For webmasters who aren’t using HTTPS yet, the time to take action is now. Otherwise, your conversions (and your reputation) will be in trouble come October. Luckily, there’s still plenty of time to migrate your site and avoid any negative repercussions of the change. If you still need to make the switch to a more secure site, do it sooner rather than later, so you can work out any snags well before Chrome 62 is released.

]]>https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/conversions-might-take-a-hit-with-chrome-62/feed/05 Guaranteed Ways to Get Devalued by Googlehttps://www.highervisibility.com/blog/5-guaranteed-ways-to-get-devalued-by-google/
https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/5-guaranteed-ways-to-get-devalued-by-google/#commentsMon, 10 Jul 2017 12:55:57 +0000https://www.highervisibility.com/?p=10401For website owners and/or managers, there are many paths for online marketing and optimization. From SEO to PPC and content marketing to social media marketing, there is certainly no shortage of ways through which to achieve your goals. However, those options and opportunities for your website come with rules that you have to play by, […]]]>

For website owners and/or managers, there are many paths for online marketing and optimization. From SEO to PPC and content marketing to social media marketing, there is certainly no shortage of ways through which to achieve your goals. However, those options and opportunities for your website come with rules that you have to play by, and if you don’t, you could find your website in hot water.

If you’re reading this and what I’m saying applies to you, then there’s a good chance Google is your search engine of choice for marketing and optimization. In regards to SEO and general website management, Google plays by the rules they’ve carefully developed and continue to evolve over time. The guidelines Google has for website management keeps the focus on providing the best experience and information possible for users while also preventing any one website or brand from cheating their way to the top.

That being said, there are many instances in which businesses end up on Google’s bad side or with a penalty without doing so intentionally. You’ve probably heard horror stories of this happening to website owners, seeing a drastic plummet in rankings overnight or realizing they’ve fallen victim to an algorithm update and earned a penalty. Such penalties can severely hurt a website or business, as they can negatively impact traffic, ranking, and performance. In my experience, I’ve seen plenty of websites from clients that were completely unaware they’d done anything to get on Google’s bad side in the first place.

While there’s a long list of things that can get your website slapped with a penalty or red flagged by Google, there tends to be a few common ways that businesses end up in that position. Check them out below, and ensure that you’re actively taking steps to prevent these slip-ups.

Common Ways a Website Gets in Trouble

Black Hat SEO

One of the single most common issues that gets website in trouble is Black Hat SEO. This includes shady practices like cloaking, keyword stuffing, hidden text, using link farms, and much more. In short, black hat SEO practices try and skirt around the rules to get SEO results in half the time. As I’ve said before, there are no short cuts when it comes to SEO, and any practice that tries to take such a shortcut will very likely get you in a lot of trouble. Unfortunately, some businesses hire what they think is a reputable SEO company and later find out that they were doing black hat SEO for their website after being caught by Google. As a rule of thumb, website owners and managers should familiarize themselves with what black hat SEO is so they can spot it early if it’s coming from an SEO provider or avoid it altogether.

Duplicate Content

Many website owners and managers don’t realize what a problem having duplicate content is. This is especially true for e-commerce websites with hundreds of product listing pages, as it can be difficult to come up with unique content over and over again. However, in the eyes of Google, duplicate content directly equates to low-quality or less useful information for users. It’s a labor of love, but the copy on your website should be well written and unique on every page.

Excessive Guest Blogging

Google just recently issued a warning about abusing guest posting in order to gain links. To be clear, guest posting is by no means a black hat or shady strategy. However, having an article published across many different sites or guest posting low-quality content is considered a violation of Google distributor guidelines and should be avoided at all costs. For bloggers especially, it’s important to focus on building relationships that open up valuable guest posting opportunities. The posts you guest blog should be your best work and in no way reflective of spammy or less useful content, or Google will eventually catch up with you.

Slow Page Speed/Poorly Performing Site

This matters a lot, because Google regularly crawls sites and accounts for how functional and accessible they are. Having a slow page speed, not being mobile friendly, or having a difficult to navigate site shows Google that your site isn’t the best option for users to find in their search results. By now we know that page speed, mobile friendliness, and ease of website crawling are factored into algorithms. Checking to see how your website performs through user testing and testing page speed are both things website owners should check on if they haven’t already.

Hacked Websites

Security is a big factor for Google, because they want to know that user information is secure on the websites they visit. Hacked websites are up 32% in the past year, posing a significant threat to the performance and success of websites as well as the security of users. Securing your website is an important and necessary step all webmasters must take if they intend to be successful on Google. From simple practices like implementing two-step authentication to purchasing more advanced security packages, it’s in your interest to make your website security airtight to avoid a penalty from Google.

]]>https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/5-guaranteed-ways-to-get-devalued-by-google/feed/4Google’s Exciting New Tool for Small Businesses: The Who, What, & Howhttps://www.highervisibility.com/blog/googles-exciting-new-tool-for-small-businesses-the-who-what-how/
https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/googles-exciting-new-tool-for-small-businesses-the-who-what-how/#respondFri, 07 Jul 2017 13:00:00 +0000https://www.highervisibility.com/?p=10381SEO helps businesses of all kinds optimize their websites to have a presence online. It helps them gain visibility, traffic, and generate leads through business websites that act as a storefront on the web. But what about small businesses? The businesses so small they don’t even need a website? For some small businesses, having a […]]]>

SEO helps businesses of all kinds optimize their websites to have a presence online. It helps them gain visibility, traffic, and generate leads through business websites that act as a storefront on the web. But what about small businesses? The businesses so small they don’t even need a website?

For some small businesses, having a website is more work than it’s worth. For example, a local mom and pop shop that sells liquor or local groceries doesn’t have a need for a multi-page website. They don’t sell products online, so there’s no need to develop e-commerce functions, and they don’t run a blog, so there’s no need for content pages. So, if they don’t have need for a website but don’t want to miss out on the business that comes from online traffic, what are these small businesses to do?

This is exactly what Google’s new tool for small businesses aims to address.

“One of the most common actions people take when exploring a Google listing is to go to the web site, but we know that getting a website can still be a challenge for a lot of small business owners around the world: too complex, too expensive, too time consuming. Millions of small businesses (60% of small businesses globally) don’t yet have a website.”

In response to this problem, Google has developed an exciting single-page website builder designed with small businesses in mind. In keeping with the simple and easy nature of this tool, it is simply called, “Website.” Through it, small business owners can easily create a single-page website in minutes from either any device from desktop to mobile phone.

How do you do it?

For small business owners to create a website, they have to have a completely filled out Google My Business listing (Website is an extension of GMB). This is because Google pulls the information from a business’s GMB listing to create the website. From there, business owners have the option of customizing the theme, photos, and text on the website.

Updating the website is as user-friendly and simple as updating your GMB listing is. This, of course, brings certain limitations in terms of how creative business owners can be with the design, but overall it’s a great option for small businesses.

Why this is Good News

This is exciting for small business owners because it presents a way for them to have an online presence without creating a resource they don’t actually need. Best of all, Website is free to use, which makes it an easy and uncomplicated step for a small business owner to quickly take to enhance their business.

]]>https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/googles-exciting-new-tool-for-small-businesses-the-who-what-how/feed/0Updates to Google’s Local Guides Program: What You Need to Knowhttps://www.highervisibility.com/blog/updates-to-googles-local-guides-program-what-you-need-to-know/
https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/updates-to-googles-local-guides-program-what-you-need-to-know/#commentsWed, 05 Jul 2017 13:00:00 +0000https://www.highervisibility.com/?p=10371Some recent updates to Google’s Local Guides Program expand it to offer more levels and more ways to contribute. It will also bring new perks and overall improve the program for both contributors and users. Here’s what you need to know. What is the Local Guides Program? Local Guides is a program that allows anyone […]]]>

Some recent updates to Google’s Local Guides Program expand it to offer more levels and more ways to contribute. It will also bring new perks and overall improve the program for both contributors and users. Here’s what you need to know.

What is the Local Guides Program?

Local Guides is a program that allows anyone to sign up and contribute to Google Maps. Contributions from local guides include sharing reviews, photos, and knowledge about the places around you to help inform other people. Contributors to Local Guides can connect with other individuals who have shared passions, attend meet-ups, and be recognized for their contributions and achievements through the program. Local Guides help Google collect the reviews, map information, and photos to provide as much accurate information and feedback as possible about local businesses.

Why do people do it?

People like being part of the Local Guides program for a handful of reasons. In some cases, people with a passion for coffee shops in their city enjoy sharing information about the best places. Or in other situations, a handicapped person might enjoy sharing information about which businesses are and are not handicap friendly around the city, so that other handicapped individuals can see that information online. Here’s a blurb from Google about some passionate Local Guides:

Luis Duran, from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, is passionate about helping people with disabilities better navigate and explore his city. Kim Flowers, in Melbourne, Australia, believes everyone should think locally and prides herself on helping businesses in her community. Chioma James from Lagos, Nigeria, is working to ensure that victims of sexual crimes can easily find necessary resources like hospitals, police stations and counseling centers. All three of these individuals are Local Guides—people from around the world who help their communities by adding reviews, photos and updated location information to Google Maps.

What’s new about the program?

There are a handful of new perks and features coming to the Local Guides program. Previously, all contributed information was weighted the same. That means that if a Local Guide answered a question, updated a map, added a photo, etc., it was all worth the same amount. Now, these contributions will be weighted differently according to value.

Previously the program only had 5 Levels for Local Guides to achieve and unlock through points from their contributions. Now, there are 10 levels, with unique achievements badges for levels 4-10 that recognize Local Guide for theirs contributions. It also helps users quickly identify Local Guides who contribute the most. You can learn more about this in the video they released:

Changes in Incentives

Per a write-up from SearchEngineJournal, Google used to give out more rewards for contributions from Local Guides. In comparison to the two years of a free terabyte of cloud storage they used to award for reaching level four, the rewards of badges and discounts in the Google Play store seem lackluster in comparison. However, the incentive to connect with others who have similar passions and meet up with local guides who have shared affinities remains a compelling reason to participate in itself.